All Senate

By a wide margin, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana lost her reelection bid to Rep. Bill Cassidy Saturday, strengthening the GOP’s position in the Senate and confirming the widening racial divide in the South regarding party affiliation and elections.

With Colorado one of several toss-up races, most analysts agree that if Democrats have any hope of holding on to their Senate majority, it will be due to success on the ground, getting voters – especially minorities, young voters, and low-income voters – to the polls.

Facebook's new interactive map of Election 2014 races based on social media activity could have some predictive value. But Facebook is probably also looking for campaigns to spend ad money on the site.

Rep. Bruce Braley, the Democratic candidate, scored points from having just attended a Washington congressional hearing on Ebola, one expert says. Republican state Sen. Joni Ernst criticized the administration for being 'reactive rather than proactive.'

In the Wednesday debate, embattled Sen. Pat Roberts tried to paint his opponent, Greg Orman, as a Democrat in disguise. For his part, Orman, an independent, had a blunt message: The problem in Washington is both political parties.

Michelle Obama and Mitt Romney head to Iowa to stump for Senate hopefuls. But, while high-powered endorsements might energize the party base, there's not much evidence they sway many voters, one expert says.

In a race that was once a dead heat, Republican Joni Ernst has pulled ahead of Democrat Rep. Bruce Braley, even as Democrats in states like North Carolina prove less vulnerable than strategists once thought.

From Kentucky to Alaska, GOP Senate candidates argue that a vote for a Democrat is a vote for majority leader Harry Reid. Cast your ballot for the Republican, and you can flip the Senate and dump the dictator, they say.

Campaign spending by 'dark money' groups is eight times higher than about this time in the last midterm campaign cycle, and it's mainly going to TV ads in races that could tip control of the US Senate.

Coal is the gold standard in West Virginia, where Senate candidate Natalie Tennant bashes her GOP rival for appearing on the campaign trail with out-of-stater Mitt Romney, who once said coal 'kills people.'

In 2010 and '12, Democrats funded ads to topple GOP 'establishment' candidates before they could get to a general election. But this year Republicans saw it coming in Alaska, and 'establishment' favorite Dan Sullivan is campaigning on it.

The tea party failed to beat the vulnerable Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, but it did fend off an establishment challenge against two influential House members. The big takeaway: candidate quality matters.

For voters, a senator with a home away from home can signal selling out to Washington. Milton Wolf, a distant relative of the president, is using that argument against Sen. Pat Roberts in Tuesday's Kansas Republican primary.